


Hold Me In Your Beating Heart

by Eustacia Vye (eustaciavye)



Series: Inception Bingo 2020 [5]
Category: Inception (2010)
Genre: Domestic Bliss, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-17
Updated: 2020-07-17
Packaged: 2021-03-05 01:40:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 687
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25342600
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eustaciavye/pseuds/Eustacia%20Vye
Summary: Day to day life together in between jobs.
Relationships: Ariadne/Arthur (Inception)
Series: Inception Bingo 2020 [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1834918
Comments: 6
Kudos: 22
Collections: Inception Trope/Kink Bingo 2020





	Hold Me In Your Beating Heart

**Author's Note:**

> For the "established relationship" square in Inception Bingo.

Ariadne slotted easily into the empty parts of Arthur's life. She said there was a hidden storm inside him, one she wanted, but thought that was fanciful thinking. He was very protective of those he thought of as his. He was the type to think nothing of sacrifice, to bend over backward and do what needed to be done, no matter the cost. He had seen it growing up, and he had internalized that state of mind well. If that included violence, so being. Arthur was practical, not naturally violent or cruel.

Perhaps they simply saw it differently.

She had her scarves hanging on tiered hooks in his closet, blouses and vests and corduroys hanging on one side of his closet. An additional dresser fit snugly along the wall next to his, her jewelry box displayed on top of it along with photos of her family members. At her insistence, pictures of his grandparents went up as well. Instead of impersonal landscapes or abstract paintings on the wall, family and friends grinned and waved from sturdy frames. Arthur kept the expensive artwork in the living room. Their personal space could be just that, intensely personal.

Arthur didn't have much of a morning routine other than getting up, running and then coming back for a protein shake and a cup of coffee. Ariadne slept in, curled up under the covers and filling in the spaces of the bed that Arthur didn't. She had her coffee while Arthur was running, then toasted bagels and slathered them with cream cheese and jelly, delightedly munching on it while scrolling through social media posts on her phone. Arthur watched the news closely and kept track of bulletin boards and whisper posts within the dream share field, knowing that shadows became real easily enough.

Their dovetailed mornings split off when Ariadne went to work, still slogging in hours at the architecture firm she was hired into after graduating. She called it a cover, because what dream share architect would ever still pull in the terrible hours and pay of someone still a few years into a firm? Arthur had looked into every last one of her coworkers, tracked her commute, and made sure there were no threats against her on any of the dark web channels he spent time in. He didn't begrudge her the illusion of safety; she was bright and wonderful, still innocent in some ways about the dangers of his world, and he didn't want to dim the brilliance of her smile just yet.

They curled up on the couch to watch TV shows together after dinners. He cooked on nights she stayed late at work, sometimes making more elaborate meals out of his battered copy of the Gourmet cookbook he had gotten from his grandmother. If Ariadne was home and she tried her hand at cooking, efforts were simpler but hearty. She grew up with stews and casseroles, stir fries and liberally seasoning everything. She popped microwave popcorn instead of pulling out his air popper when they watched movies together on his large screen TV, and she would heckle the characters, throwing popcorn at the screen when really upset with their stupidity. Arthur laughed and elbowed her; his dissections of communication errors, security glitches and technology tended to ruin the enjoyment of most thrillers, so they tended to avoid those. They agreed on action movies and scifi ones, as well as the occasional romcom.

Arthur couldn't imagine life without her. He'd been too long on the run, too long alone. Now he liked the warmth beside him in bed, the slide of skin against his, the press of her body close when she hugged him or kissed him at random times. She was demonstrative, full of smiles and her heart beating on her sleeve for him to see.

He held her at night, fingers tangled in her curls, breathing in the scent of her. Grinning when she snuffled in her sleep and huddled closer, he closed his eyes and settled back to sleep himself. This was perfect, and everything he hadn't thought he would get to have in life.


End file.
